Keselowski Wins At Chicagoland, Takes Early-Chase Lead

A late-race battle between a rookie and three previous Chicagoland winners ended in Brad Keselowski capturing the checkered flag in his series-leading fifth win of the 2014 Sprint Cup season.

Keselowski’s victory, which guarantees the 2012 Cup champion a spot in the Chase’s Contender Round, was also Ford’s first win in 14 Chicagoland Speedway races.

Late in the race, however, the rookie Kyle Larson seemed a serious threat for his first Sprint Cup win. Long bouts of side-by-side racing between Larson and Kevin Harvick for the lead accompanied the final 20 laps . While inaugural Chicagoland winner Harvick seemed the man to beat, when Larson caught the veteran he proved that even a rookie can engage in a tight but clean race for a win.

But the 2012 Sprint Cup champion Brad Keselowski saw the battle for the lead as an invitation to make his own move. Cutting between the two California drivers, Keselowski took the lead with 15 laps to go and held on to it.

Keselowski seemed to appear out of nowhere. With 80 laps to go, Keselowski restarted in 16th place due to an extra pit stop under caution. Bogged down by slower competitors, he decisively made moves through traffic until catching and passing the battling leaders.

A caution caused by an accident between Danica Patrick and Ricky Stenhouse led to a restart with six laps to go. Keselowski re-established a comfortable lead, which he held until passing under the checkered flag in first place.

Despite losing too much distance to make up before the race’s finish, Larson was given another opportunity to show off his skills, as Jeff Gordon invited him to another tight duel for second place. The two drivers engaged in another clean battle in the closing laps of the race, at one point swapping low and high race lines as they crossed the start/finish line, putting on a spectacle for the fans. Gordon eventually secured the spot and finished second, while Larson notched third. The rookie managed to capture his Top-3 finish despite a hard hit in practice that sent him to a backup car for race day.

Keselowski’s Team Penske counterpart Joey Logano finished fourth, and Kevin Harvick dropped back to eventually finish fifth.

Keselowski holds a seven point lead over Jeff Gordon in the standings heading into the second race of the Challenger Round in the Chase, next Sunday at New Hampshire.

Chase drivers Aric Almirola, Ryan Newman, Greg Biffle and A.J. Allmendinger did not fare well, and as a result are the final four drivers in the Chase group, in danger of the cut-off after the next two races.

Newman, Allmendinger and Biffle finished 15th, 22nd and 23rd, respectively. Almirola finished 41st after engine failure while running in sixth place.

Race Results:

1. Brad Keselowski
2. Jeff Gordon
3. Kyle Larson
4. Joey Logano
5. Kevin Harvick
6. Denny Hamlin
7. Kyle Busch
8. Kurt Busch
9. Jamie McMurray
10. Matt Kenseth
11. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
12. Jimmie Johnson
13. Kasey Kahne
14. Martin Truex Jr.
15. Ryan Newman
16. Austin Dillon
17. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
18. Tony Stewart
19. Danica Patrick
20. Carl Edwards
21. Paul Menard
22. AJ Allmendger
23. Greg Biffle
24. Brian Vickers
25. Marcos Ambrose
26. Casey Mears
27. Justi Allgaier
28. Landon Cassill
29. Reed Sorenson
30. Cole Whitt
31. David Ragan
32. Michael McDowell
33. Josh Wise
34. David Gilliland
35. Alex Bowman
36. Joey Nemechek
37. Joey Gase
38. Travis Kvapil
39. Clint Bowyer
40. Michael Annett
41. Aric Almirola
42. Ryan Truex
43. Mike Bliss